Turkey govt. reforms not aimed at ending conflict: PKK
Iran Press TV
Tue Oct 1, 2013 4:58PM GMT
Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) says Ankara’s proposed human rights reforms are not aimed at ending a nearly 30-year conflict with the Kurds.
“It is apparent that the (ruling) AK Party does not understand the Kurdish problem and is not serious in its approach,” the PKK leadership, based in northern Iraq, said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that, “This package (of reforms) shows the only thing that is being considered is winning another election (set to be held in March 2014).”
“Tossing out a few crumbs to stall (the process) shows this government lacks the mentality and capacity for a solution,” the PKK statement said.
The statement has also said that the party’s armed wing will respond next week.
Earlier, the party had rejected the Turkish government’s proposals saying the reform package “did not address any of their expectations.”
This comes shortly after Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan proposed long-awaited reforms to enhance the rights of Turkey's Kurdish community.
Under the reforms, Kurdish-language education will be permitted in private schools, and candidates in elections will be allowed to campaign in Kurdish.
The reforms will also aim to ease rules preventing pro-Kurdish and other smaller parties from entering parliament. Women have been also granted permission to wear headscarves in state institutions.
Moreover, towns can revert to their previous Kurdish names, and a quirky ban on the use of three letters of the Kurdish alphabet that do not exist in Turkish will be lifted.
In March, the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, declared a historic ceasefire after months of negotiations with the Turkish government.
In return, the PKK demanded amendments to the penal code and electoral laws as well as the right to education in the Kurdish language and a degree of regional autonomy.
But last month, the PKK announced they were planning to suspend the ceasefire, accusing Ankara of failing to deliver the promised reforms.
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.
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